Protective device for infants&#39; hands.



M. C. BOWEN.

PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR mums HANDS.

APPLICATXON FILED DEC-1. I911.

Patented Mar. 26, 1918.

luuawtot Wilmeoo m M w MAY CATHERINE Bowen, or canon CITY, ooLonAno.

EBOTECTIVE DIE VICE FOR INFANTS HANDS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 26, W918.

Application filed December 1, 1917. Serial No. 204,860.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAY CATHERINE BOWEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Canon City, in the county of Freemont and State of Colorado,have invented new and useful Improvements in Protective Devices forInfants Hands, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to protecting devices for the hands of infants,and the primary object of the same is to provide a simple and effectivemeans that may be readily applied over the hands of infants to preventall danger of breaking or dislocatingthe fingers or thumbs or causingdistress by hav ing the fingers or thumbs of an infant catch in thecloth of the sleeves of a garment. An infants fingers naturally tend tospread out and stifienwhen its hand or arm is held in a position toapply the sleeve of a garment thereto. Consequently, when the arm of aninfant is raised for the purpose of putting it into a sleeve, thefingers 0f the hand invariably spread out and stiffen and cause them tocatch in the cloth and, as a result, the infant is distressed and,moreover, the fingers are liable to become permanently in jured and veryparticular and careful attention is requlred on the part of an attendantto avoid injuring the infant in this manner.

With this and other objects and advantages in view, the inventionconsists in the construction and arrangement of the several parts whichwill be more fully hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved Protecting device orcone.

Fig. 2 is a rear end elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal vertical section.

The numeral 5 designates a cone-like body or member preferably formed ofcelluloid or other analogous material adapted for the purpose and whichis smooth and rigid enough to efiect the function for which the devicehas been devised. The body or member 5 will be of such proportions as toer mit the insertion of the hand of an in ant thereinto without crampingor in anywise squeezing or injuring the hand or fingers of the latter.of the body or member 5 is a partial closure 7 of silk or other similarmaterial which is fastened to the edge of the open end 6 of the Securedto the rear open end 6- body or member 5, as at 8, by any suitablemeans, for instance, by thread stitches, as shown, though the exactmanner of securing this partial closure to the open end of the body ormember 5 is not essential as various means could be adopted topermanently retain the partial closure in applied position. The partialclosure or the silk or other material extends straight toward the centerof the body or member 5 and is fiat and formed with. folds or plaitsconverging toward the center of the open end 6 of the said body ormember 5 and providing an excess of material Which is normally held tautby an elastic or rubber band 9 inclosed within a hem 10 or otheranalogous device which is formed either by turning over the material ofthe partial closure 7 around the center, or, it may be an independentstructure and attached to the closure to provide an elastically confinedcentral opening llwhich is normally of less diameter than that of thewrist of an infant or baby.

In the use of the improved device, the hand of the infant is insertedthrough the opening 11 and the elastic or rubber band 9 is' therebystretched and at the same time loosens the partial closure 7- as will beread ily understood, and when the hand has been fully inserted withinthe cone-like body or member 5, the rubber band 9 will tend to resumeits normal position and bind the wrist of the hand inclosed withsufiicient stress to prevent the accidental detachment of the cone whichserves as a guard but will not in anywise inconvenience or irritate theinfant. There will be, of course, a protective device of the characterspecified applied to each hand,-and by this means the fingers will beinclosed, yet the infant will have free use of the fingers or can movethe same within the body or member 5. By means of the protective device,the hands and arms of the infant may be readily inserted through thesleeve of a garment in dressing an infant and the protective device maybe very easily pushed through the sleeve of the garment, and after thegarment isfully applied the protective devices may be readily removedfrom the hands. It will be understood that the dimensions of theimproved protective device Or cone may be modified, but it is proposedto make them of such uniform size that they will receive a large or asmall hand and be also of such dimensions generally as .to be readilyinsertible through a sleeve or other garment opening.

What is claimed is:

1. A protective device for the hands of infants, consisting of acone-like body with a straight open end at the maximum diamet ricportion of said bod and having an inwardly extending straight partialclosure over said open end provided with a central elastically confinedopening of normally less dimension than the wrist of an infant toyieldingly bind on the wrist and hold the device in applied position.

2. A protective device for the hands of infants, consisting of acone-like practically rigid body with an opening at one end at themaximum diametric portion of said body and having a dimension largerthan the maximum dimensions of an infants hand and wrist, the oppositeend of the body being closed, and an inwardly extending fiat partialclosure disposed straight over the portion of said open end coveredthereby and prov ded with a central elastically confined openmg of lessdimension than the hand and wrist of an infant.

3. A protective device for the hands of mfants, consisting of a bodclosed at one end and the opposite end ormed with an opening larger thanthe maximum dimensions of thehand and wrist of an infant, and a flatnormally taut artial closure over the said opening of the Eody extendinginwardly from the eriphery of the latter to a central 'elastica'l yconfined opening of less dimension than the dimensions of the hand and srist of an infant.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

MAY OATHERIN E BOWEN.

Witnesses:

G. V. Honom MARGARET N.

